Internet-audiotext electronic advertising system with inventory management

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an electronic advertising system. More specifically, the present invention creates a means to select ads for publication in the newspaper based on past performance of individual personal ads, thus attempting to optimize the number of responses to the printed personal ad column as a whole. At the same time, all personal ads are published on the Internet so as to accommodate all advertisers regardless of the past performance of their ad. Finally, by fully integrating the Internet personal ads service with the audiotext personal ad service, advertisers whose ad only is published on the Internet are in no way disadvantaged by fewer features or options.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to audiotext systems designed toprovide full access to traditional databases and telecommunicationssystems, such as local area networks, the Internet, other externaldatabases, telephones and fax machines, etc., and more specifically toaudiotext personal ad services

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Audiotext personal ad services are a popular way for people tomeet, and are available in most newspapers and on many cable televisionsystems In a typical service, an advertiser calls a live operator andplaces a text personal ad. An advertiser then calls an audiotext systemand records an audio message, often referred to as a greeting, whichexpands upon the advertiser's text ad by describing in more detail theadvertiser and the type of person he is seeking. Personal ads are thenpublished in a newspaper. A personal ad includes a 900 telephone numberand an ad mailbox number permitting a caller to listen to anadvertiser's voice greeting. A caller can respond to an ad by recordinga reply voice mail message for the advertiser An advertiser retrieves amessage by calling the audiotext system and entering a password given atthe time of ad placement. In another format, live operators are notused. Instead, an advertiser first records an audio greeting via atelephone An operator then listens to the audio greeting off-line andwrites a text summary of the audio greeting for publication in thenewspaper.

[0003] With the expansion of the Internet and other on-line services,personal ad services have been created to take advantage of this newmedium. A typical service allows an advertiser to place a text personalad that is published on the Internet on an HTML (HyperText MarkupLanguage) page. An Internet user may respond to a personal ad by sendingan advertiser a message via electronic mail. The limitation of thisapproach is that an Internet user cannot listen to an audio recording ofan advertiser, a feature that is the central to audiotext personal adservices. Another limitation is that many people do not have Internetaccess, thus limiting the number of advertisers and respondents.

[0004] In another format, an attempt is made to integrate audiotextpersonal ads services with the Internet. Using this approach, personalads are published in both the newspaper and on the Internet. Eachpersonal ad includes a 900 telephone number and an ad mailbox numberpermitting a caller to listen to an advertiser's voice greeting. Thisapproach still has the disadvantage of not allowing an Internet user tolisten to an advertiser's voice greeting via the Internet. Moreover, anInternet user can only respond to a personal ad via a telephone becausethis approach does not allow Internet users to exchange messages withtelephone users.

[0005] To summarize, existing Internet personal ad services are limitedin that they lack many of the features available on audiotext personalad services. Also, existing personal ad services do not provide a meansfor those using an audiotext personal ad service to effectivelycommunicate with those using an Internet personal ad service and visaversa Therefore, there is a need for a personal ad system thatseamlessly integrates an audiotext system with an Internet server,allowing straightforward communication between those using a telephoneand those using the Internet. Such a system has been proposed in detailby the present inventor which comprises application Ser. No. 08/744,879.However, there is still the need to address some of the problemsinherent in an integrated audiotext and Internet based personal adservice.

[0006] Because of their popularity, a personal ad services published bya metropolitan newspaper or cable television system can attract severalhundred or more advertisers at any given time. This creates a seriousproblem for both the media company and the individual advertiser.Because of the costs associated with printing a newspaper, it is notalways possible or desirable to publish in the newspaper all thepersonal ads available at any given time. This practice can, however,lead to disappointment for individual advertisers whose ads are notpublished. Moreover, because of the costs of publishing personal ads inprint or on television, there is a need for newspapers and cabletelevision systems to find ways to maximize the profits of thesepersonal ads services. Since these profits flow from the number ofresponses an ad receives, the need arises for a system that maximizesthe number of responses an ad published in the newspaper receives, whileaccommodating the needs and desires of individual advertisers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention accommodates these competing needs bycreating a means to select ads for publication in the newspaper based onpast performance of individual personal ads, thus attempting to optimizethe number of responses to the printed personal ad column as a whole Atthe same time, all personal ads are published on the Internet so as toaccommodate all advertisers regardless of the past performance of theirad. Finally, by fully integrating the Internet personal ads service withthe audiotext personal ad service, advertisers whose ad only ispublished on the Internet are in no way disadvantaged by fewer featuresor options.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] For a more complete understanding of the present invention,reference is made to the following drawings, in which:

[0009]FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of the present invention.

[0010]FIG. 2 shows a table of the fields used for storing personal data,including a brief description of the particular fields.

[0011]FIG. 3 shows a table of the fields used for storing greetingsdata, including a brief description of the particular fields.

[0012]FIG. 4 shows a table of the fields used for storing response data,including a brief description of the particular fields.

[0013]FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of thepresent invention, more specifically placing an ad through a telephone.

[0014]FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of thepresent invention, more specifically placing an ad through the Internet.

[0015]FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of theprocess of reviewing and summarizing ads as accomplished by the presentinvention

[0016]FIG. 8 shows personal ads as they would appear in a localnewspaper.

[0017]FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of theprocess of responding to an ad through a telephone as accomplished bythe present invention.

[0018]FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of theprocess of responding to an ad through the Internet as accomplished bythe present invention.

[0019]FIG. 11 shows a maximized personal ad as seen by the Internet userwho chooses to expand the ad to full-page size.

[0020]FIG. 12 shows a flow diagram of the response confirmation process,including the Response Confirmation Form which gives the Internet userinstructions on how to enhance a response to an ad with, audio, video ora photograph

[0021]FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of theprocess of retrieving responses through a telephone as accomplished bythe present invention.

[0022]FIG. 14 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary operation of theprocess of retrieving responses through the Internet as accomplished bythe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0023] As required, a detailed illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention is disclosed herein. However, telephone techniques, physicalcommunication systems, data formats and operating structures inaccordance with the present invention may be embodied in a wide varietyof forms and modes, some of which may be quite different from those inthe disclosed embodiment. Consequently, the specific structural andfunctional details disclosed herein are merely representative, yet inthat regard, they are deemed to afford the best embodiment for purposesof disclosure and to provide a basis for the claims herein which definethe scope of the present invention.

[0024] Referring initially to FIG. 1, a series of remote telephoneterminals T1-Tn are represented. In addition, a series of remotecomputer terminals CT1-CTn are represented. The indicated terminalsT1-Tn represent the multitude of telephone terminals existing inassociation with the public telephone network PTN. The indicatedcomputer terminals CT1-CTn represent the multitude of computer terminalsconnected to the Internet.

[0025] The public telephone network PTN, which accommodates theindividual terminals T1-Tn, is coupled to an Interactive Voice ResponseSystem IVR. The Internet, which accommodates individual computerterminals CT1-CTn, is coupled to an Internet Web Server IWS. Individualcallers use the individual telephone stations T1 through Tn to interfacethe IVR through the public telephone network PTN. Individual users atcomputer terminals CT1 through CTn use the Internet to interface theInternet Web Server. Telephone callers and Internet users may recorddigital audio messages that can be listened to from any of the remotetelephone terminals T1-Tn or from any of the remote computer terminalsCT1-CTn. Internet users may leave digital text messages that may beaccessed from any of the remote telephone terminals T1-Tn using text tospeech or from the remote computer terminals CT1-CTn via computermonitor

[0026] Considering the system of FIG. 1 in somewhat greater detail, itis to be understood that the public telephone network has multiplexingcapability for individually coupling the terminals T1-Tn to the IVR onrequest. In the illustrative embodiment of the system, the individualterminals T1-Tn take the form of existing traditional or conventionaltelephone instruments. It is also to be understood that the Internet hasthe capability for individually connecting the computer terminalsCT1-CTn to the Internet Web Server. In the illustrative embodiment ofthe system, the individual computer terminals CT1-CTn take the form ofpersonal computers that comprise a central processing unit CPU, modem,monitor, keyboard, hard drive, sound card, speakers, and microphone.

[0027] Considering the IVR in somewhat greater detail, the publictelephone network PTN is coupled to an IVR FIG. 1. In the disclosedembodiment, from the public telephone network PTN, forty-eight lines areconnected to the IVR and, accordingly, the IVR may accommodate up toforty-eight simultaneous calls from the public telephone network PTN.The IVR contains a processor, an exemplary form of which is an Intel 166MHz Pentium Processor. The forty-eight lines from the public telephonenetwork (PTN) are connected to the processor though an interface 15, anexemplary form of which is a series of commercially available Dialogic(D240SC-T1) cards. The interface incorporates modems, tone decoders,switching mechanisms, DNIS and ANI capability. The Dialogic card storesaudio information in the Dialogic VOX format.

[0028] Generally, DNIS capability is a function of the public telephonenetwork PTN to provide digital data indicating the called number. ANIcapability is a similar function whereby the digital data indicates thecalling number

[0029] Considering the Internet Web Server in somewhat greater detail,the IWS is coupled to the Intemet via a DS1 line to a local Internetprovider service The IWS may accommodate a multitude of simultaneousInternet users. As represented, the IWS is a micro computer programmedfor Internet information server operations. The IWS contains a processorand Internet server software, exemplary forms of which are an Intel166Mhz Pentium Processor and Microsoft Internet Information Serversoftware

[0030] The IWS is also loaded with RealAudio Server software fromProgressive Network. RealAudio allows a Microsoft Windows .WAV file tobe converted into a RealAudio .RA file, a compressed format that allowsplay back over the Internet in real time, as opposed to firstdownloading a file and then listening to it. RealAudio accomplishes thisby playing an audio file while it is still downloading, using a processcalled data streaming.

[0031] The IWS is also loaded with VDOLive Server software. VDOLiveallows a video clip in the Microsoft Windows AVI, Apple Quicktime, orMPEG video files formats to be converted into a VDOLive .VDO format, acompressed format that allows play back over the Internet in real time,as opposed to first downloading a file and then listening to it. VDOLivealso utilizes data streaming.

[0032] The IVR and the IWS are coupled to a Database Server DBS via anEthernet hub as shown in FIG. 1. The system includes one or moreOperator Workstations OW1-OWn, through which an operator can interactwith and control the DBS, IVR and IWS.

[0033] The database server DBS is a computer programmed for databaseoperations. In the illustrated embodiment, the DBS manages a personal AdDatabase which is comprised of multiple tables that manage ad creation,the audio greeting files, ad response files, photograph and video filesand keyword searching of ads The Ad Database comprises an electronicequivalent of the personal classified ads placed via telephone and theInternet, and responses placed to ads

[0034] The IVR converts audio files received via telephone into theRealAudio RA format for real time retrieval via the Internet.Conversely, the IWS converts audio files received via the Internet intoDialogic VOX files for retrieval via telephone Audio file conversionsare done through audio file conversion software, an exemplary form ofwhich is Sound Forge by Sonic Foundry.

[0035] The DBS contains a processor and an SQL (Structured QueryLanguage) relational database software, exemplary forms of which are theIntel 166Mhz Pentium Processor and Microsoft SQL Server.

[0036] The Operator Workstation OW is a conventional personal computerequipped with a sound card capable of playing the audio data and a videodisplay capable of displaying digitally stored photographs and movies.An exemplary form of the OW is a microcomputer equipped with an Intel166Mhz Pentium Processor and a Creative Labs Sound Blaster sound card.Operators review all incoming advertiser files—text, audio, photograph,and video—to insure that their content is appropriate. Also, operatorsuse advertisers' text messages and audio recordings to create summarytext ads for publication in a newspaper.

[0037] The following sections describe in greater detail the interactionbetween the IVR, the DBS, the IWS, and the OW.

Placing an Ad through a Telephone

[0038] An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a specifictelephone caller placing a personal advertisement will now be treated toaccomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 5. First, suppose atelephone caller at terminal T1 makes a call to place a personaladvertisement in response to an advertisement in XYZ newspaper. Theassumed call involves the telephone caller actuating the buttons toinput the number 1 800 555 3333, for example. As a result, signals areprovided to the public telephone network resulting in a connection fromthe remote terminal T1 to the IVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, theIVR associates the called number 1 800 555 3333 with a specific format,for example, a voice personals ad taking format.

[0039] The caller is first prompted to create a profile of himself byanswering a series of questions using the buttons on his touch tonephone. Referring initially to FIG. 5, upon receiving a call, the IVRcues the caller to enter his telephone number 801. The IVR stores thetelephone number 802 in the field AD_PHONE 203. Next, the IVR cues thecaller to enter his gender 803. For example: “If you are a woman,press 1. If you are a man, press 2.” The IVR stores the caller's gender804 in the field AD_GENDER 207. Next, the IVR cues the caller for hismarital status 805. For example: “If you are single, press 1. If you aredivorced, press 2. If you are widowed, press 3.” The caller responds andthe IVR stores the caller's marital status 806 in the fieldAD_MARITAL_STATUS 208. Next, the IVR cues the caller for his age 807.For example: “Please enter your age.” The caller's age is then stored808 in the field AD_AGE 209.

[0040] Next, the IVR cues the caller to record an audio greeting 812.The advertiser's audio greeting is then stored to a disk file on the IVR813 and Ad Database is updated 809. Specifically, the AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210in the AD_PERSONAL_TABLE FIG. 2 is set to FALSE indicating that the admust be reviewed by an operator. In addition, a new record is created inthe AD_GREETINGS_TABLE FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 set toFALSE to indicate that the audio greeting has not been reviewed. In thenew record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are alsopopulated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of theaudio file, and the location of the audio file on the IVR, and the dateand time the greeting was recorded The field GR_TYPE is set to VOX toindicate that the audio recording is in the Dialogic .VOX file format.Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to FALSE to indicatethat the audio file must be converted from the Dialogic VOX format tocreate a new audio file in the RealAudio .RA format for playback on theInternet.

[0041] The IVR then cues the caller to indicate if he wishes to recordan e-mail address 816. For example: “Press 1 to input an e-mail address.Press 2 to decline.” If the caller elects to leave an e-mail address,the IVR cues the caller to record his e-mail address 817. The audiorecording is stored to a disk file on the IVR 818 and the fieldAD_E-MAIL_FILENAME 205 in table AD PERSONAL FIG. 2 is set, indicatingthat an e-mail audio file exists and its location on the IVR.

[0042] Next, the IVR assigns the advertiser a five digit mailbox number819. For example: “Your 5-digit mailbox number is 12345.” The mailboxnumber is then stored 820 in the field AD_MAWBOX_NUMBER 201. The IVRthen cues the caller to enter a five digit password 821. The password isstored 822 in the field AD_PASSWORD 202.

[0043] In addition, the IVR stores the date the ad is taken in the fieldAD_DATE_TIME 206, and updates the field AD_ORIGIN 211 to indicate thatthe personal ad originated on the telephone 823 Also, the value in thefield AD_RESPONSE COUNT 212 is set to zero to indicate the number ofresponses the ad has received 824. Finally, the IVR creates anelectronic mailbox for the advertiser on the IWS 825 and stores it inthe field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201 to allow respondents to submit audio,video and photographic files in response to the advertiser's ad.

Placing an Ad through the Internet

[0044] An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a specificInternet user placing a personal advertisement will now be treated toaccomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 6. First, suppose a Internetuser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to place a personaladvertisement in response to an advertisement in XYZ newspaper. Theassumed Internet user connects to the Internet and inputs a UniformReference Locator URL, for example: http://www.personal_ads.com,resulting in a connection from the remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page1001 on the Internet Web Server.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 6, from the Home Page 1001 on the IWS, theInternet user selects an Ad Placement Form 1002. The Ad Placement Form1002 contains the following input fields corresponding to fields in theAd Database as indicated: Gender 1003 AD_GENDER 207 Marital Status 1004AD_MARITAL_STATUS 208 Age 1005 AD_AGE 209 E-mail address 1006AD_EMAIL_ADDRESS 204 Phone Number 1007 AD_PHONE 203 Password 1008AD_PASSWORD 202 Greeting Text 1014 GR_FILENAME 304

[0046] This process largely parallels the process of placing a personalad via a telephone. The password 1008 is used by the advertiser toretrieve messages and the e-mail address 1006 and telephone number 1007are used to contact the advertiser. The gender 1003, age 1005, andmarital status 1004 fields create a profile of the advertiser. Finally,the field Greeting Text 1014 describes the advertiser and the person sheis seeking.

[0047] The Internet user completes the Ad Placement Form 1002 andpresses the “Submit” button to submit her ad. The form is checked by theIWS for completeness 1016. If the form is incomplete, the user isreturned to the Ad Placement Form 1002. If the form is complete, the IWSupdates the Ad Database 1017. This includes assigning the user a fivedigit mailbox number and storing it in the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201.In addition, the advertiser's profile, contact information, password andgreeting are added to the Ad Database. Also, the advertiser's textgreeting is stored to a disk file on the IWS. Next, the AD_REVIEW_FLAG210 in the AD_PERSONAL_TABLE FIG. 2 is set to FALSE indicating that thead must be reviewed by an operator 10, a new record is created in theAD_GREETINGS TABLE FIG. 3, and the field GR_REVIEW FLAG 303 is set toFALSE to indicate that the text greeting has not been reviewed. In thenew record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are alsopopulated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the file format,and the location of the text file on the IWS, and the date and time thegreeting was placed. Specifically, the field GR_TYPE is set to TEXT.Finally, the field is GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to indicatethat the text does not need to be converted to a different format.

[0048] Next, the IWS then creates an Ad Confirmation Page 1020. The AdConfirmation Page 1020 confirms the advertiser's mailbox number 1021,and gives the advertiser an e-mail address to submit an audio greeting1022, photograph 1023, or video clip 1024 for inclusion with herpersonal ad. Also, the Internet Web Server stores the date and time thead is taken in the field AD_DATE_TIME 206, and updates the fieldAD_ORIGIN 211 to indicate that the personal ad originated on theInternet 1025. In addition, the value in the field AD_RESPONSE COUNT 212is set to zero to indicate the number of responses the ad has received1026. Finally, the IWS creates an electronic mailbox for the advertiser1027, using the mailbox number stored in the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER asthe electronic mail address, to allow respondents to submit audio, videoand photographic files in response to the advertiser's ad.

Enhancing an Internet Ad with Audio, Photograph and Video

[0049] A more detailed explanation of how an advertiser submits an audiogreeting, photograph, or video clip via CT1 will now be given. To submitan audio greeting, the advertiser first makes an audio recording using aWAV file editor and then saves the file using her five digit mailboxnumber as the file name 1030 FIG. 7, for example. 44567.wav. Theadvertiser then submits the audio file using e-mail to an audio greetingelectronic mailbox 1031, for example: audio_greeting@personals.com. Theadvertiser's audio recording is stored to a disk file on the InternetWeb Server

[0050] In addition, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS TABLEFIG. 3 and the Ad Database is updated 1032 Specifically, the fieldGR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio greetinghas not been reviewed. Also, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the AD_GREETINGS TABLE FIG. 3are also populated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, theformat of the audio file, and the location of the audio file on the IWS,and the date and time the greeting placed. The field GR_TYPE is set toWAV to indicate that the audio recording is in the Microsoft .WAV fileformat. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to FALSE toindicate that the audio file must be converted from the Microsoft .WAVformat to create two new audio files: one in the RealAudio .RA formatfor playback on the Internet, and another in the Dialogic VOX format forplayback via the telephone.

[0051] To enhance a personal ad with a photograph, the advertiser firstdigitizes a photograph using a scanner or takes a photograph with adigital camera and then saves the image to a .GIF file using her fivedigit mailbox number as the file name 1037, for example: 44567.gif Theadvertiser then submits the graphic file using e-mail to an photographelectronic mailbox, for example: photo@personals.com 1031.

[0052] The advertiser's photo is stored to a disk file on the IWS andthe Ad Database is updated 1032. Specifically, a new record is createdin the AD_GREETINGS_TABLE FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 set toFALSE to indicate that the graphic file has not been reviewed. In eachnew record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME304, GR_DATE_TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are alsopopulated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of thegraphic file, and the location of the graphic file on the IWS, and thedate and time the photograph was received. The field GR_TYPE 302 is setto GIF to indicate that the graphic file is in the GIF file formatFinally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to indicatethat no file conversion is necessary as GIF is the graphic file formatused by the IWS If other graphic formats were accepted, they might haveto be converted to a .GIF format, depending on the file formatssupported by the IWS If file conversion were necessary, the fieldGR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 would be set to FALSE

[0053] To enhance a personal ad with video, the advertiser firstdigitizes a video clip and then saves the image to a Microsoft .AVI fileusing her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1036, for example:44567.avi. Other video formats such as Apple Quicktime, or MPEG videocould also be used. The advertiser then submits the graphic file usinge-mail to an electronic mailbox, for example: video@personals.com 1031.

[0054] The advertiser's video clip is stored to a disk file on the IWSand the Ad Database is updated 1032. Specifically, a new record iscreated in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG303 set to FALSE to indicate that the video file has not been reviewed.In each new record, the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302,GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE TIME 305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 arepopulated to indicate the advertiser's mailbox number, the format of thevideo file, and the location of the video file on the IWS, and the dateand time the video was received. Specifically, the field GR_TYPE 302 isset to AVI to indicate that the video clip is in the Microsoft .AVI fileformat. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to FALSE toindicate that the video file must be converted to the VDOLive format forreal time playback on the Internet.

Reviewing and Summarizing Ads

[0055] All new personal ads are reviewed by an operator at an OperatorWorkstation to insure that their content is appropriate Also, eachgreeting submitted by an advertiser, whether it be an audio greetingrecorded by an advertiser via a telephone or a text greeting placed byan advertiser via the Internet, is summarized by an operator to create atwenty word classified text ad for publication in a newspaper. Thetwenty word limit is a function of newspaper imposed space limitations.It should be noted that space limitations, if they exist at all, mayvary widely from newspaper to newspaper. In another format, text adsthat are published in the newspaper are first placed with a liveoperator via a telephone, precluding the need to summarize an audiorecording.

[0056] An exemplary operation of the process of reviewing andsummarizing ads with regard to a specific operator at OW1 will now betreated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 7. The operatorfirst queries the Ad Database to determine if there are new ads toreview 1801. Specifically, the query looks for all ads in theAD_PERSONAL table FIG. 2 where the field AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 is set toFALSE. If the query finds a new ad, the operator first reviews the ad'sgreeting 1802 as found in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 3. If the ad wasplaced via telephone, this consists of listening to the ad's audiogreeting. If the ad was placed via the Internet, this consists ofreading the text greeting. The operator then determines if thegreeting's contents are appropriate 1803. If the greeting's contents areinappropriate, the ad is deleted and the record purged from the AdDatabase 1804 and the operator is returned to block 1800. If thegreeting's contents are appropriate, the operator writes a twenty wordsummary of the greeting 1804 The operator then queries the Ad Databaseto determine if the advertiser recorded an e-mail address 1805. If ane-mail address audio recording is found, the operator transcribes thee-mail address 1806. The operator then updates the Ad Database 1807.

[0057] Specifically, the advertiser's twenty word text summary is storedto a disk file on the IWS. The AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 in the AD_PERSONALtable FIG. 2 is set to TRUE indicating that the ad has been reviewed. Inaddition, a new record for the text summary is created in theAD_GREETINGS table FIG. 3 and the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 set to TRUEindicating that the record has been reviewed. In the new record, thefields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_FILENAME 304, GR_DATE_TIME305 in the table AD_GREETINGS FIG. 3 are also populated to indicate theadvertiser's mailbox number, the file format, and the location of thetext file on the IWS, and the date and time. The field GR_TYPE is set toTEXT. Finally, the field GR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE toindicate that the text does not need to be converted to a differentformat.

[0058] The operator then returns to block 1800 to continue processingads. If no new ads are found, the operator queries the Ad Database todetermine if any multimedia files (audio, video, or photo) have beensubmitted via the Internet to enhance a personal ad 1808. Specifically,the query looks for all ads in the AD_PERSONAL table FIG. 2 where thefield AD_REVIEW_FLAG 210 is set to TRUE that has files in theAD_GREETING_TABLE FIG. 3 where the GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is set to FALSE.If the query finds a multimedia file, the operator first reviews thefile 1809. If it is an audio file, this consists of listening to thead's audio greeting If it is a video or graphic file, this consists ofviewing the file. The operator then determines if the greeting'scontents are appropriate 1810. If the greeting's contents areinappropriate, the filed is deleted and the record purged from the AdDatabase 1811. The operator is then returned to block 1808 to continueprocessing multimedia files. If the file's contents are appropriate, theoperator approves the file 1812 and updates the Ad Database 1813.Specifically, this consists in setting the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 toTRUE to indicate that the file has been reviewed.

[0059] If the file is an audio file, the Operator Workstation convertsthe file to create a new RealAudio RA file and stores the file on theIWS. The Operator Workstation also converts the file to create aDialogic VOX file and stores the file on the IVR. For each new audiofile, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 2 and thefields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_DATE_TIME 305, andGR_FILENAME 304 are populated to indicate the mailbox number of theadvertiser, the format of the file, the date and time, and the locationof the audio file on the IVR. Also, the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is setto TRUE to indicate that the file has been reviewed. Finally, the fieldGR_CONVERSION_FLAG is set to TRUE to indicate that the audio file doesnot need to be converted.

[0060] If the file is a video file, the Operator Workstation convertsthe Microsoft AVI file to create a new VDOLive file and stores the fileon the IWS. Also, a new record is created in the AD_GREETINGS table FIG.2 and the fields GR_MAILBOX_NUMBER 301, GR_TYPE 302, GR_DATE_TIME 305,and GR_FILENAME 304 are populated to indicate the mailbox number of theadvertiser, the format of the file, the date and time, and the locationof the video file on the IVR. Also, the field GR_REVIEW_FLAG 303 is setto TRUE to indicate that the file has been reviewed. Finally, the fieldGR_CONVERSION_FLAG 306 is set to TRUE to indicate that the video filedoes not need to be converted.

[0061] The operator then returns to block 1808 to continue processingmultimedia files. If no new multimedia files are found, the session isterminated 1814.

Publishing Ads using Inventory Management

[0062] An exemplary operation with regard to publishing personal ads ina newspaper will now be treated. Assume XYZ Newspaper offers its readersa personal ad service in which personal ads are published weekly in thenewspaper and available twenty-four hours a day on the Internet. Furtherassume that XYZ newspaper has at any given time several hundredadvertisers on the personal ad service but is only able to print onehundred personal ads in the newspaper due to space limitations. Thespace limitations could be a result of several factors including paperand ink cost, and editorial policy. Because the Internet is not limitedin the same way as the newspaper, all the personal ads are published onthe Internet. For example, XYZ newspaper allows fifty personal ads fromfemales and fifty personal ads from males to be printed in the newspapereach week. To select which personal ads are published in the newspaper,each week all personal ads are sorted first by gender and second by thenumber of responses an ad has received, using the values stored in thefields AD_GENDER 207 and AD_RESPONSE_COUNT 212, respectively. The fiftyads in each category that received the most responses are then publishedin the newspaper. If two or more ads have the same gender and the samenumber of responses, preference is given to the newer ad, using the timeand date as stored in the field AD_DATE 206. FIG. 8 depicts personal adsas they would appear in XYZ newspaper. Icons are included in each adthat represent the origin of an ad (via telephone or via the Internet)and what additional information or multimedia, if any, is available onthe Internet. For example, an ad placed via the telephone contains atelephone icon 2001; an ad placed via the Internet contains a computericon 2002. If there is additional text on the Internet, an ad containsan icon denoting additional text 2004. The presence of a photo or videoclip is indicated respectively by a still camera 2004 and video camera2005 icons

Responding to an Ad through a Telephone

[0063] An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a telephonecaller responding to a personal advertisement will now be treated toaccomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 9. First, suppose atelephone caller at terminal TI places a call to respond to a personalad advertised in XYZ newspaper. The assumed call involves the telephonecaller actuating the buttons to input the number 1 900 777 3333, forexample. As a result, signals are provided to the public telephonenetwork resulting in a connection from the remote terminal T1 to theIVR. Using standard DNIS techniques, the IVR associates the callednumber 1 900 777 3333 with a specific format, for example, a voicepersonals response format.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 9, upon receiving a call, the IVR sets the“invalid mailbox number count” equal to zero 2301. The IVR thenincrements the “invalid mailbox number count” by one 2302 and cues thecaller for a mailbox number 2303 Upon the caller entering a mailboxnumber, the IVR queries the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER 201 to determine ifthe mailbox number is valid 2304. If the mailbox number is invalid, theIVR determines if the caller has exceeded the maximum number of attemptsallowed 2305. If the caller has exceeded the maximum number of attemptsallowed, the call is terminated 2306. If the maximum number of attemptsallowed has not been exceeded, the IVR increments the “invalid mailboxnumber count” by one 2302 and again cues the caller for a mailbox number2303

[0065] If the mailbox number is valid, the IVR queries the fieldAD_ORIGIN 211 to determine if the ad originated on the Internet 2307. Ifthe ad originated on the telephone, the IVR plays the ad's audiogreeting 2311. If the ad originated on the Internet, the IVR uses textto speech to play the ad's text greeting as placed on the Internet 2308.The IVR then queries the AD_GREETINGS table FIG. 2 to determine if theInternet advertiser also submitted an audio greeting 2309. If the querydoes not find an audio greeting 2310, the IVR prompts the caller toindicate if he wishes to respond to the ad 2312. If the query finds anaudio greeting 2310, the IVR plays the audio greeting 2311. The IVR thenprompts the caller to indicate if he wishes to respond to the ad 2312.

[0066] If the caller elects not to respond to the ad, he is thenprompted to respond to another ad 2325. If the caller chooses to respondto another ad, the IVR continues processing at block 2301, otherwise thecall is terminated 2326. If the caller elects to respond to the ad, theIVR cues the caller to record his response 2319. The IVR then stores theresponse to a disk 2320 file and updates the Ad Database 2321.Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG.5 populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_RMAILBOX_NUMBER 502,RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate themailbox number of the ad responded to, the mailbox number of therespondent, the date and time of the response, the format of theresponse, and the location of the response file on the IVR. The fieldRSP_TYPE 504 is set to VOX to indicate that the audio recording is inthe Dialogic .VOX file format Finally, the field RSP CONVERSION_FLAG 506is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio must be converted from theDialogic .VOX format to create a new audio file in the RealAudio RAformat for playback on the Internet.

[0067] The IVR also creates a new RealAudio RA file from Dialogic .VOXfile and stores the RealAudio file to a disk file on the IWS 2322. TheIVR then updates the Ad Database 2323. Specifically, the IVR creates anew record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 5 and populates the fieldsRSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_RMAILBOX_NUMBER 502, RSP_DATE_TIME 503,RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of thead responded to, the mailbox number of the respondent, the date and timeof the response, the format of the response, and the location of theresponse file on the IVR. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to RA toindicate that the audio recording is in the RealAudio RA file format.Next, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE for both theaudiotext .VOX file and the RealAudio .RA file to indicate that theaudio files do not need to be converted.

[0068] Finally, the value in the field AD_RESPONSE_COUNT 212 isincremented by one to indicate that a response has been received 2324.

Responding to an Ad through the Internet

[0069] An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to a specificInternet user responding to a personal ad via the Internet will now betreated to accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 10. First,suppose an advertiser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet torespond to a personal advertisement advertised in XYZ newspaper. Theassumed Internet user connects to the Internet and inputs a UniformReference Locator URL, for example: http://www.personal_ads.com,resulting in a connection from the remote terminal CT1 to a Home Page onthe Internet Web Server.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 10, from the Home Page 2401 on the IWS, theInternet user selects an Ad Response Form 2402. The Ad Response Forminstructs the Internet user to enter the five digit mailbox number ofthe ad she wishes to respond to 2403. Upon the Internet user enteringher mailbox number, the IWS queries the field AD_MAILBOX_NUMBER in theAd Database to determine if the mailbox number is valid 2404. If themailbox number is invalid, the Internet user is presented with anInvalid Mailbox Number Form 2405.

[0071] If the mailbox number is valid, the IWS presents the Internetuser with a Results Form 2406. The Results Form 2406 shows the ad theInternet user selected. Specifically, the Results Form shows the twentyword text ad that appears in the newspaper 2407. In addition, the adcontains one or more icons that represent any additional text ormultimedia files (audio, video, photograph) for the ad that areavailable on the IWS. These icons include an audio icon 2408 to denotethe ad's audio greeting, a still camera icon 2409 to denote a photographof the advertiser, a video camera icon 2410 to denote a video clip ofthe advertiser, or a paper icon 2411 to denote the ad's full textgreeting, if the ad was placed on the Internet. It is to be understoodthat these icons are merely representative and that many otherpossibilities exist to denote the existence of text and multimediafiles. By clicking on an icon, the Internet user can view or listen tothe associated file In addition, by selecting a maximize bar 2412, theInternet user can expand an ad to full page size FIG. 1 1. The Internetuser responds to an ad by selecting the “Respond” button 2413

[0072] When the Internet user selects the respond button, she ispresented with an Ad Response Form 2414. The Internet user creates aresponse by completing a response text field 2416. After completing theAd Response Form, the Internet user submits the form by pressing the“Submit” button 2422. The advertiser is then presented with a ResponseConfirmation Form 2423 The Response Confirmation Form gives theadvertiser information on enhancing her response with an audio message,photograph, or video clip.

[0073] The IWS then stores the response to a disk file and updates theAd Database 2424. Specifically, the IWS creates a new record in theAD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicatethe mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time of theresponse, the format of the response, and the location of the responsefile on the IWS. The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to TEXT. Next, the fieldRSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE to indicate that the text doesnot need to be converted to a different format.

[0074] Finally, the value in the field AD_RESPONSE_COUNT 212 isincremented by one to indicate that a response has been received 2425.

Enhancing a Response with Audio, Photograph and Video

[0075] As already indicated, after a text response has been submittedvia the Internet, the Internet user is shown a Response ConfirmationForm FIG. 12 1501. The response confirmation form gives the Internetuser instructions on how to enhance a response to an ad with audio,video, or a photograph

[0076] A more detailed explanation of how a respondent submits an audioresponse, photograph, or video clip via CTT will now be given. To submitan audio response, the Internet user first makes an audio recordingusing a WAV file editor and then saves the file using her five digitmailbox number as the file name 1503, for example: 44567.wav. TheInternet user then submits the audio file using e'mail to therecipient's electronic mailbox on the IWS 1504, for example'.22345@personals com 1512. The Internet user's audio response is storedto a disk file on the IWS and the Ad Database is updated 1505.

[0077] Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSEtable FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501,RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 506 to indicate themailbox number of the ad responded to, the date of the response, theformat of the audio file, and the location of the audio file on the IVR.The field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to WAV to indicate that the audiorecording is in the Microsoft .WAV file format. Also, the fieldRSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to indicate that the audio filemust be converted from the Microsoft .WAV format to create two new audioresponse files: one in the RealAudio .RA format for playback on theInternet, and another in the Dialogic .VOX format for playback via thetelephone.

[0078] The IWS determines if conversion of audio files is needed 1506,and then creates a new RealAudio .RA file and Dialogic .VOX file fromthe Microsoft .WAV file 1507. The RealAudio file is stored on the IWSand the Dialogic file is stored on the IVR. The IWS also updates the AdDatabase 1508. Specifically, for each new audio file, the IWS creates anew record in the AD_RESPONSE table FIG. 4 and populates the fieldsRSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, andRSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to,the date of the response, the format of the response, and the locationof the response file on the IWS. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG506 is set to TRUE for both the source audio file (.WAV) and the targetaudio files (VOX and .RA) to indicate that the audio files do not needto be converted 1509

[0079] To send a photograph in response to an ad, the Internet userfirst digitizes a photograph using a scanner or takes a photograph witha digital camera and then saves the image to a GIF file using her fivedigit mailbox number as the file name 1510, for example: 44567.gif Therespondent then submits the graphic file using e-mail to the recipient'selectronic mailbox, for example: 22345@personals.com 1504. Therespondent's photo is stored to a disk file on the IWS and the AdDatabase is updated 1505.

[0080] Specifically, the IWS creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSEtable FIG. 4 and populates the RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501, RSP_DATE_TIME503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate the mailbox numberof the ad responded to, the date of the response, the file format of thephotograph, and the location of the file on the IWS. The field RSP_TYPE504 is set to GIF to indicate that the graphic file is in the GIF fileformat. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to TRUE toindicate that no file conversion is necessary as GIF is the graphic fileformat used by the IWS 1506. It should be noted that file conversion mayor may not be necessary depending on what file formats are supported bythe IWS and IVR and in what formats the system allows users to submitfiles

[0081] To send an advertiser a video clip, the Internet user firstdigitizes a video clip and then saves the image to a Microsoft .AVI fileusing her five digit mailbox number as the file name 1510, for example:44567.avi. Other video formats such as Apple Quicktime, or MPEG videocould also be used The respondent then submits the graphic file usinge-mail to the recipient's electronic mailbox, for example:22345@personals.com 1504 The respondent's video is stored to a disk fileon the IWS and the AD Database is updated 1505.

[0082] Specifically, the IVR creates a new record in the AD_RESPONSEtable FIG. 4 and populates the fields RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER 501,RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 to indicate themailbox number of the ad responded to, the date of the response, thefile format of the video clip, and the location of the video file on theIWS. Specifically, the field RSP_TYPE 504 is set to AVI to indicate thatthe audio recording is in the Microsoft AVI file format. Finally, thefield RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is set to FALSE to indicate that theVDOLive file must be converted to the VDOLive format for real timeplayback on the Internet.

[0083] The IWS determines that the video file must be converted toVDOLive format 1506. The IWS creates a new VDOLive file from theMicrosoft AVI file and stores the new file to a disk file 1507 on theIWS and updates the Ad Database 1508. A new record in the AD_RESPONSEtable FIG. 4 is created and the IWS populates the RSP_MAILBOX_NUMBER501, RSP_DATE_TIME 503, RSP_TYPE 504, and RSP_FILENAME 505 fields toindicate the mailbox number of the ad responded to, the date and time ofthe response, the format of the video file, and the location of thevideo file on the IWS. Finally, the field RSP_CONVERSION_FLAG 506 is setto TRUE for both record formats (AVI and VDOLive) in the Ad Database toindicate that the video file(s) does not need to be converted 1509.

Retrieving Responses through a Telephone

[0084] An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to anadvertiser retrieving responses to his personal ad will now be treatedto accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 13. First, suppose anadvertiser at terminal T1 places a call to retrieve messages left inresponse to his ad The assumed call involves the advertiser actuatingthe buttons to input the number 1 900 777 4444, for example As a result,signals are provided to the public telephone network resulting in aconnection from the remote terminal T1 to the IVR. Using standard DNIStechniques, the IVR associates the called number 1 900 777 4444 with aspecific format, for example, a message retrieval format.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 13, upon receiving a call, the IVR sets the“logon attempts” equal to zero 2501. The IVR then increments the “logonattempts” by one 2502 and cues the caller for a mailbox number andpassword 2503. The IVR then queries the Ad Database to determine if themailbox number and password are valid. If the entries are not valid, theIVR determines if the caller has exceeded the maximum number of logonattempts allowed 2505. If the caller has exceeded the maximum number oflogon attempts allowed, the call is terminated 2506 If the maximumnumber of logon attempts allowed has not been exceeded, the IVRincrements the “logon attempts” by one 2502 and again cues the callerfor a mailbox number and password 2503.

[0086] If the entries are valid, the IVR then queries the AD_RESPONSEtable to determine if the advertiser has any responses 2507. If theadvertiser has no responses, the call is terminated 2506. If the IVRfinds a response, the IVR plays the text 2513 and audio 2514 messagesfrom the respondent If a response is in text form, the lVR uses text tospeech to play the message If there are additional responses, the calleris returned to block 2513. Otherwise, the call is terminated 2506.

Retrieving Messages through the Internet

[0087] An exemplary operation of the system, with regard to anadvertiser retrieving her messages via the Internet will now be treatedto accomplish the process as indicated in FIG. 14 First, suppose anadvertiser at terminal CT1 connects to the Internet to retrievemessages. The assumed Internet user connects to the Internet and inputsa Uniform Reference Locator URL, for example:http://www.personal_ads.com, resulting in a connection from the remoteterminal CT1 to a Home Page 1701 on the Internet Web Server.

[0088] Referring to FIG. 14, from the Home Page 1701 on the Internet WebServer, the advertiser selects a Message Retrieval Form 1702. TheMessage Retrieval Form 1702 instructs the advertiser to enter a mailboxnumber 1703 and password 1704. The IWS then queries the Ad Database todetermine if the mailbox number and password are valid 1705. If theentries are not valid, the Internet user is presented with an InvalidMailbox and Password Form 1706. If the entries are valid 1705, the IWSqueries the Ad Database 1707 to find responses to the advertiser's ad

[0089] If there are no responses, the IWS presents the advertiser with aNo Responses Form 1709. If the IWS finds one or more responses, the IWSpresents the advertiser with a Personal Ad Messages Form 1710. ThePersonal AD Messages Form 1709 shows any messages for the advertiser.Each message shows the date 1712 and time 1713 the message was receivedand contains one or more icons that represent the contents of themessage. A text icon 1714 denotes a text message; an audio icon 1715denotes an audio message, a still camera icon 1716 denotes a photograph;a video camera icon 1717 denotes a video clip By clicking on an icon,the advertiser can view or listen to the associated file

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for storing an audio file and listening to said audio file via the Internet, said method comprising: a means for selecting said audio file; a means for storing said audio file in digital memory; a means for transferring said audio file to an Internet access node; and a means for controling said transfer; wherein said means for transferring said audio file formats said audio message for output into humanly perceivable form.
 2. An apparatus for storing audio files and transferring said audio files to the Internet comprising: a digital information storage device, a transfer means, an Internet access node, and an inventory management control device; wherein said digital information storage device stores phonemes indicative of audio and wherein said transfer means formats said digital information for output in humanly perceivable form via said Internet access node 